Mr Dhoni has also been "wrongly vilifed" by the media after yesterday's hearing, said representatives for the Board of Control for Cricket in India or BCCI in court today. (How barring CSK and RR would have hit IPL 7)

Mr DhoniÂ captains the Chennai Super Kings, a franchise in the domestic Twenty20 league that's owned by BCCI chief N Srinivasan, whose son-in-law G Meiyappan was indicted last month for illegal betting in last year's edition of the tournament.Â In court, Harish Salve , who is representing the petitioner, the Cricket Association of Bihar, said that during the investigation, Mr Dhoni had lied about Mr Meiyappan's role,Â describing him as "just a cricket enthusiast" though he is a key member of the team's management.

The BCCI's lawyers said today that Mr Dhoni did not make that statement.

The Supreme Court today ruled that Mr Srinivasan will stand down as BCCI chief; former captain and cricket analyst Sunil Gavaskar will take charge of the IPL tournament that begins on April 16.

On February 10, a three-member committee, headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal, handed to the Supreme Court its report on illegal betting and spot fixingÂ - conceding a specified number of runs in exchange for money from bookmakers.

The corruption controversy erupted last year after several players, including bowlerÂ Shantakumaran Sreesanth, were arrested by Indian police for spot fixing.